Modern vehicles have a multiplicity of control devices which in each case carry out a specific function and are networked to form a link-up of control devices, for example by means of a CAN, MOST or FlexRay data bus to form a communication system. In order to provide also for an exchange of data between such different data buses having different communication protocols within the communication system, special control devices having a so-called gateway functionality are used with the aid of which a conversion of data can be achieved between the different data buses. Such gateways thus convert communication-protocol-specific data of a data bus into the communication-protocol-specific data of another data bus. Apart from forwarding messages (routing) which have communication-protocol-specific data and useful data, a change of the content of the useful data can also be carried out in a gateway.
From DE 11 2008 000 664 T5, which is incorporated by reference, a generic gateway for connecting a multiplicity of data buses with control devices is known. This gateway comprises a read-only memory in which a memory section has a routing matrix which specifies a correlation between an identification information item (ID) of a message to be forwarded and a data bus via which the message is to be forwarded. In order to be able to integrate further control devices into such a communication system, the messages of which are also to be conducted via a gateway, an additional routing matrix is generated automatically and stored in a random access memory which specifies a new correlation added so that the messages of the control devices newly added can also be forwarded.
It can be considered to be a disadvantage of this known gateway that the messages are forwarded in accordance with a predetermined scheme, namely in accordance with a rigid scheme corresponding to the predetermined and the additional routing matrix, and it is not possible to change such schemes dynamically.